Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess was a British non-fiction and fiction and literary author. Anthony was born on Feb 25th, 1917 in Manchester and studied at the Xavierian College and later on lectured at Birmingham University. Burgess spent considerable time traveling the world. In his lifetime he has toured south-east Asia, Mediterranean Europe, and England. Anthony served in the military for a substantial period on the battlefield and later as an education officer.
The author has written many books both fiction and non-fiction among them the Malayan trilogy, Shakespeare and Lawrence among others. Anthony is also credited with composing over 250 musical works. Additionally, he also worked as a screenwriter with screenplays such as Moses The Lawgiver and Jesus of Nazareth.

Time for a Tiger

The trilogy, the Malayan Series kicks off with the book Time for a Tiger. The book looks into the difficult times of post-war Malaya as they fought for their independence. It explains the confusion and conflict brought about by the mingling of different cultures.

Malaya is in a state of confusion and amidst a racial crisis which drives the citizens into a hard and depressing state. It is during the postwar, and the people and government are amused by the effects created by the desire for independence. Victor Crabbe is the protagonist of this story and works as a teacher in a poor village. While he is moving up career-wise, he is also moving backward maintaining steady decedent progress together with his wife.

Anthony shows the extent of damage that has befallen the country and more so focusing on the social and political crisis that is created. The author gives alcoholism weight as this is used as an escape from the hardships that these people go through daily. It is one of the highly taxed commodities which leaves them with the option of using the cheap local beers especially for the majority who cannot afford standard beer. The society at that time is described as ignorant, lustful with multiple flaws as well as regretful as they nurse the wounds of war with the declining of the British rule. The country is still in a mess as communist try forcing their effect and turning people into terrorists.

The book also dramatically focuses on racism and the rigorous Islamic culture as it explores the different conflicts experienced at a personal level and as a community. Instances of humor make it attractive as the reader is drawn from the crisis being discussed in the story. The character building and description are also done excellently.

The Enemy In The Blanket

Second in the Malayan Trilogy is the Enemy in The Blanket. This is an adventure of victor Crabbe who has been assigned the headmaster role in a particular school. The story continues all the way to the independence period.

Crabbe is an English teacher is transferred and made the headmaster in one fictitious village in Malaya. On arriving here, he meets hardman who is an ex-fellow student back in England. Hardman is after building a clientele in this place, but this is almost impossible as the competition present is very severe from the Chinese, Malay Muslim, and Sikh. Victor’s wife wants to go back to England, but fate strikes bringing not only her down but many others. Anthony expresses a lot of concern on the difficulties that have befallen this country focusing on the pangs of racial segregation and social injustices. Again, the cultural difference that exists in this place causes a divergence which slows down development.

This is a community that is struggling to rise from the ruins and creates for themselves a stable and vibrant nation. But the trivial problems and conflict seem to bring them down before they can progress towards the achievement of this dream. This is a book that is heavily detailed with history though from a fictitious point but the messages communicated are apparent. The book has a massive take on the political life of this nation and the effects of war and other social and cultural problems. It can also not be overlooked that the book includes the role of females by a considerable extent.

The story is slow but highly educative where he uses the past to teach a lot of the present and the future. The inclusion of songs and wordplay make the reading more engaging and captivating.

Beds In The East

Beds in The East is the third book in the Malayan trilogy. As the British withdraw from Malaya, the country is plunged into a mess creating cultural and social problems. The novel continues the adventures of Victor Crabbe. The book explores the themes of ethnicity, religion, and nationhood which were seen in the Mayan society.

The country is on the verge of, but the tension between the different races is on the verge of creating a war. Victor is portrayed as a liberal-minded character full of zeal and who comes close to be the force behind the reunion of Malaya. However, victors past catches up with him and also gets weighed by the fact that he is divorced from Fenella, his second wife. The Mayans are still lodged in problems as they struggle to build a nation that is at conflict internally though not fighting each other on the battlefield.

The characters in the story are so deep into the events discussed that they either become the victims or the agents of change. One thing that keeps coming up repeatedly is that of alcoholism and which claims a considerable part of this society. Burgess tries to portray a community that is deeply engaged in a conflict that they are unable to create any meaningful progress.

Antony Burgess style of writing is highly predictive as he writes of things that would later occur current Malaysia. Based on his experience in the country, he has a rich understanding of the cultural, social religious and political conflict that existed in this country. The author portrays characters and happenings so clearly that one can almost picture the events he discusses in this book. He additionally shapes the significant themes of war, conflict and even betrayal way perfectly.

Thriller Master Harlan Coben is back! The man of a thousand twists is back with his latest edge of the seat thriller. A perfect family has lost their daughter to drugs and an abusive boyfriend. The parent sees her in Central Park one day and approaches her. However she runs, and she's clearly in trouble. Of course if you're a Coben fan you don't even need a description - you know this book is going to be good. More Details.

Recommendations

Every 2 weeks we send out an e-mail with 6-8 Book Recommendations. We'll base this on various factors for example "If you like Jack Reacher..." or "If you like short stories in the horror genre". Insert your e-mail below to start getting these recommendations.

MISSING A BOOK?

I do my best to make sure the book lists are complete and current, but due to human or machine error while attempting to keep 3000+ authors up to date, the occasional book can be missed or will be listed under an alternate title. If you see one missing just send me an e-mail below. Thanks!

Author / Series

Book(s)

Featured Series

One of my favourite series is the Brilliance Saga by Marcus Sakey and it is our featured series of the month. It's just an incredible light sci-fi series that fans of "Dark Matter" would also enjoy. It's free on Kindle Unlimited too! More Details.

Featured Author

It’s always exciting when an author starts a new series, and romantic suspense author of the Daniel Vartanian trilogy Karen Rose has started a new series recently. It’s called the Sacramento series and begins with Say You’re Sorry. Karen is our author of the month! Check out our Karen Rose page.

Did You Know…

Jack Reacher never needs a watch, as he always knows what time it is in his head. This has sometimes played both major and minor parts in many of the plots of the novels he features in.